Interview: Shaping Sound’s Nick Lazzarini

Saturday,, March 12th, Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theater is going to be awashed in modern dance as Nick Lazzarini, the season one winner of Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance, brings his modern dance show Shaping Sound to Baltimore. Described as “an electrifying mash-up of dance styles and musical genres brought fully to life on stage by a dynamic company of contemporary dancers. In After the Curtain, these visual musicians continue to dazzle audiences as they tell the story of a man fighting to find his creative voice after the death of his one true love. Heart-wrenching, breath-taking and ultimately uplifting.” The show should be a fun night on the town. I did an email interview with Nick earlier this week.

Nick’s multifaceted dancing abilities have leveraged his career within the United States and abroad. Nick is the season one winner of the Fox reality show So You Think You CanDance and has been featured in countless publications, including the cover of DanceSpirit Magazine twice. He has performed with music sensations such as Adele on Dancing with the Stars, Kelly Clarkson at this year’s American Music Awards and Florence and the Machine at The MTV Video Music Awards. Currently, he teaches on tour for JUMP Dance Convention. Nick is a founding member of the Los Angeles based dance company Shaping Sound.

Can you talk a little bit about Shaping Sound?
Shaping sound was founded by myself teddy Forance and Travis was in 2011. We wanted to figure out a way to work together and create together on a regular basis after a very successful performance on dancing with the stars. Now we’ve had two full length shows and 7 North American tours.

How is this different than other Dancing review?

Our show is different than other dance reviews because it taps into not only the contemporary world of dance but the commercial world as well. It’s such a great blend of styles from jazz and contemporary to hip hop and tap. It’s really unique.

There’s definitely a modern twist to the show. Can you talk a bit about the themes and what you want the audience to feel?

There are a lot of beautiful themes in this show. It’s a love story but it’s so much more complex than that. I don’t want to give away too much but there’s also a bit of mystery in it as well.

How much credit do you think So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars has in sparking this new wave of excitement of Dancing as an Art Form and were you surprised by how popular Dance has become?

Shows like dancing with the stars and sytycd have definitely helped pave the way for the success of our company. They’ve really shined a light on dance and individual dancers as stars and celebrities not just back up dancers to artists. People come to our show excited to see their favorite dancer. It’s always so cool to meet the fans and talk with people that have been following your career for over 11 years

You won Season one of So You Think You Can Dance, how has that impacted your life?

Speaking of over 11 years I won sytycd about 11 years ago!!!! I don’t think any of us would be here today without the success of that show. It’s obviously helped propel my career. I know I had the talent to succeed in this business but you need that one big break to help get you off the ground and the show was my break

What do you think is the future of Dance as an art form and as a medium for Audiences to view?

I hope that shaping sound can get bigger and bigger. I imagine our shows everywhere. Vegas, broadway, cruise ships, tours…I really feel like we can become a major brand like cirque du solei. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for us and the dance world.